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East Ukraine breaks Easter truce with fatal shooting

Andrew Kramer

A pro-Russian militant guards a truck carrying the bodies of killed pro-Russian separatists at a checkpoint outside Slaviansk. Photo: AFP

Slaviansk, Ukraine: A shootout at a checkpoint controlled by pro-Russian militants near the town of Slaviansk has left at least three people dead, highlighting the fraying of a truce in eastern Ukraine reached just days earlier by diplomats in Geneva.

Four cars drove towards the checkpoint in the early hours of Sunday. The occupants then allegedly opened fire, killing thee local men who were stranding guard, according to pro Russian militants who control the town.

"We thought nothing would happen because it was the holy night," said Yevgeny Bondarenko, 62, who was there to celebrate Easter with the people at the checkpoint. "Who can we trust now?"

A checkpoint outside the town of Slaviansk, where three pro-Russian militants and one attacker were killed on Easter Sunday. Photo: AFP

It was unclear whether the shooting was staged by provocateurs, was an accident or an attack on pro-Russian militants. The difficulty in sorting out what happened will resonate far beyond Slaviansk, which is the linchpin of a string of midsize towns north of the regional capital, Donetsk, that are controlled by the militants.

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A diplomatic settlement reached on Thursday by the European Union, Russia, Ukraine and the United States called for illegally armed groups to lay down their weapons, though the chances of this formula for peace succeeding seemed slim from the beginning.

Within hours, pro-Russian militants in eastern Ukraine said they had no intention of disarming in accordance with the agreement, which they did not sign. Russia's Foreign Ministry said the provision calling for disarmament covered "in the first place" the Ukrainian nationalist group Right Sector, which is based in western Ukraine.

The US has said it will impose additional sanctions on Russian businesses and possibly on a bank or oil company, if the agreement falls apart, but so far, militants have not budged from the buildings they are occupying or handed in their guns.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Sunday saying the Russian Ministry's claim that the attackers were members of Right Sector. was groundless. Right Sector also denied any involvement.

"The Russian side must be reminded about their obligations under the Geneva agreement to bring all necessary influence to bear on separatists to clear illegally held buildings, unblock roads, lay down arms and prevent any bloodshed," the Ukrainian statement said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also issued a statement saying that "as a result of an attack by insurgents of the so-called Right Sector, innocent civilians have died". It added that pro-Russian fighters had found "aerial photographs of that district" and Right Sector emblems in cars seized from the attackers. "The Russian side is indignant at this provocation of the insurgents, which shows the Kiev authorities' unwillingness to rein in and disarm the nationalists and extremists," it said.

The checkpoint was a confused scene after the shootout. The remains of a pickup truck riddled with bullet holes on the driver's side, and a sports utility vehicle were in the centre of the road, incinerated except for two out-of-town license plates.

Reporters saw two bodies near the shooting, and officials in the town morgue said three people had died of gunshot wounds. This was confirmed by Ukrainian police who said three people had been killed and four wounded. But pro-Russian militants said three of their members and two attackers had died.

Mayor of Slaviansk Vyachislav Ponomaryov, who has declared himself mayor of the pro-Russian militants, imposed a curfew and asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to send in Russian peacekeepers.